Shiver
by J'adore Lea
Summary: "The meaning of my name is 'small, strong woman'. So I will honor my name in every way to make you and the Task Force proud." Says the girl that Price always wanted on the team, the guys find attractive, and MacTavish sees an entire different world in. Soap x OC
1. Prologue

Beauty was the one word John MacTavish never knew the definition for, well of course he has read it in a dictionary or come across it somewhere a few times but he has never found anything in this screwed up world classified as being "beautiful". Being surrounded by death and angst from the day he was twelve, the thought of beauty and all of that good stuff was a bunch of bullshit. The Scottish man's life was filled with looking at the face of death every day and not feeling a single emotion towards it because he knew that this was how to real world was and everyone who tried to cover it up with beauty was in denial. Killing strangers who had a gun pointing directly at him or his team-mates wasn't "beauty"; neither was hearing explosions and the cries of babies in all of the small towns or big cities that he had to invade with the assistance of the Task Force 141.

All his life, John believed that _beauty_ was a bunch of shit.

And all of that "story book ending" or "happily ever after" crap wasn't in his world either; he strongly knew that happiness wouldn't last forever so why should he get his hopes up? How could he be happy with the way the world has turned out? John would often talk to Price about this, he was the only man who could spit wisdom to him and it actually made sense. He would always say that to find peace with myself, John cannot be in pieces. But, how could he not be in pieces when all of the beauty and good that the government wants us to believe is all a lie?

John also thought that he'd be alone for the rest of his life. He does have a couple of friends back home and some family members here and there. But he doesn't have someone who he can turn to, who will stand by his side through everything, and who will show me the amount of love that John was willing to give—well, those were his old thoughts.

Those were the thoughts that he would think about day in and day out, it drove him crazy and something that he never got used to but now, John can feel the emptiness that he's lived with his entire life filling up with something that he can't even explain. Maybe it's the thing that he never knew the true meaning of.

"I'm ready." A voice comes from behind him, without even thinking, he felt a smile spread across his face; which that rarely happens. He turned around and started at the one who was standing at the door way, the one who caught his attention from the first day John met her.

The one who he think is the true meaning of _beauty_.


	2. Chapter 1

December 13th, 2012

Sitting on top of a roof in a small town outside of Belgium in the cold next to an old man was not what MacTavish planned on doing, especially when they're considered to be "look-outs" while they both wait until its dark outside to "rescue" some girl. He trained to fight, not to be a watch dog.

"What kind of patrol mission is this, old man? What happened to the guys who are supposed to do this, I don't even remember agreeing to this." MacTavish turned to Captain Price; the one who has stood by him since day one and the one who he can somewhat call a friend.

"Whatever I do, I have the right to make you come along. Got that? Now stop your whining and pay attention." Price lit up a cigarette and passed the lighter to him. "We're here because this girl has been in hiding for quite some time now, ever since her family was assassinated."

"She's in some type of danger or something?" MacTavish took the lighter and lit up a cigarette himself.

"Well partially, most people believe that she's being kept there because she could be in danger but the truth is; she's the dangerous one. This girls name is Avariella Suriello, she knows how to hold her own they say, and she's always putting her face in trouble. The ones who are keeping in hiding said that they try protecting her but she's tried breaking out several times, that's when I stepped in and said that if she doesn't want to stay protected and thinks that being in danger is for her then, she should join my force." A proud smile spread across his face.

"No way, don't be stupid. She doesn't have any training and if she's known for acting out, she'll be slopping on the field." Mactavish shook his head.

"Trust me Soap, everyone is slopping on their first few experiences; you were all over the place, spraying bullets everywhere because your aim was terrible. But you got better, and I know that Suriello will get better. In fact, the way they described her, she could be a weapon." Price said; MacTavish could tell he was already having mental visions.

Before he could get a word out, he put the cigarette to his mouth and looked over to the building. The street lights were turning on as the sky got darker; it was almost time.

"If they know you're coming for her, why do we have to break in and kidnap here while everyone is asleep?" He realized that part didn't make any sense.

"'Cause she'll think it's more surreal, she isn't aware of what's happening so why not give her a little taste of what she'll have to be doing for the rest of her time?" Price smirked, but then they both froze when they heard tiny foot steps behind them. MacTavish slowly reached over for his gun, but that's when he heard her voice.

"You know, that whole lying business isn't gonna fly with me if you expect me to be in your force. Trust is very important to me." Her voice was so harmonic and pure, yet it had a dark side to it.

The men both turned to her at the same time, but of course Price was the first to talk while MacTavish stood back and observed.

"Where the bloody hell did you come from?!" Price yelled.

"I broke out; I think that's pretty straight forward. I found out about your plan this morning when some of the guards were talking about it, it's like they wanted me to know due to how loud and obnoxious they were being." She smirked. "So, I thought I should throw you and your partner off your guards. Smart, right?" She smiled, and when she did they could notice that her eyes were sparkling.

"Avariella, I don't know if I should be furious with you for unexpectedly breaking out of that center or happy that I don't have to go down there." Price growled, when he noticed she wasn't going to say anything he looked behind him and nodded. "Now, I would like to get the hell out of here and back to the base, looks like you'll be training her sooner than expected. Let's move." Price said as he walked past the both of them, all Avariella did was shift out of his way. MacTavish could tell there was some type of fear of reality on her face.

All he could do was stare at the little girl in front of him, and until now he still couldn't believe she was going to be a part of the Task Force; MacTavish wasn't in the mood to argue with Price in front of her. Neither was he happy about the idea of training her because he knew she was going to be one hell of a challenge.


	3. Chapter 2

It has been over two weeks since the new recruit has been here, and in that time Soap hasn't found one flaw; no matter how hard he tried to look, Price was right, she's perfect. But of course, he wasn't the type of person to swallow his pride and admit that. The newly promoted Captain sat at his desk with all of her files open, analyzing everything about her, even though he's been doing that for the past 14 days.

MacTavish read over her basic files while lighting a cigarette, he sat back in his chair and enjoyed the one thing that seemed to relax him on tough days; lately he's been experiencing a lot of those. He wasn't use to having to train someone, especially a female who believes that she take down anyone who comes in her way. He knew that her family was killed when she was in her late teenage years, resulting her outburst on acting out but she hasn't done anything too serious. Although, she fights like she's been personally trained all her life. For all of the shit she's done, no charges has been held against her, expect for being put into witness protection 7 months ago.

Usually, he would let stuff slide and accept anyone who joins this force, but there was something about this girl. There was something that he wanted to hold onto, he wanted to learn more about her and why she's so interesting to him. MacTavish looked over to the clock and saw that it was 4:20PM; he knew that everyone was either training, or just enjoying each other's company. This was the perfect time to go find that little recruit he's been thinking about all day.

As he walked around the base, he felt everyone looking at him but that didn't seem to bother him. When he walked by the basketball court, he saw his good friend Ghost on the sidelines cheering on some of the guys playing.

"Hey Ghost, get over here!" He called out to him.

Ghost turned around and jogged towards Soap "What's up, mate? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, why aren't you playing with the guys?" Soap motioned towards the basketball court.

"Well, I'm not the best ball player but they said I could show moral support" He smirked.

"Kind of like a cheerleader?" Soap chuckled, but Ghost realized it was true and shook his head.

"Alright Soap that was real funny, what do you want?" Ghost rolled his eyes.

"Where's the new girl?" Soap's voice suddenly grew serious.

"You mean, Avariella? Pretty name, isn't it? The last time I saw her was at lunch, but she didn't eat in the café with us. I think she might be in her room or training, I worry about her though, she's the only female on this base and I think she's lonely." Ghost kept talking but Soap was already headed towards her room. He heard Ghost call out after him but he continued to ignore him.

Xxxx

He arrived at her door, but hesitated to knock. All he could think about was why he really came to see her; all he remembered was getting up from his chair in his office and storming over here to find her. Avariella was the only girl on the base and if he was in her shoes, he'd feel incredibly lonely as well. Without thinking, he knocked on her door and waited until she answered.

"_Just a minute!" _He heard a voice come from inside. About a moment later, he was standing in front of the petite woman who was wearing a tank top and sweat pants. Her hair was left down while her eyes looked alert, before she could open her mouth to say something, she smiled.

"Suriello, I came by to check on you. Ghost told me he only saw you at lunch and usually all the recruits eat together in the café." Soap said, even though it wasn't what he wanted to tell her.

"So, you're worried about me Captain? I'm a big girl and I think I can fend for myself." She smiled, it was dangerous yet heart-warming.

"Fend for yourself on a campus with fully trained men? I don't think you can hold your own even if you tried your hardest." Soap smirked.

Avariella leaned against the door frame and thought to herself for a moment. "You might think that I'm not able to hold my own, but that's how I like to things; catching my prey off guard and striking when they least expect it." She looked up to him again, this time Soap could tell she was sticking to her word.

"Save that talk for the field, Suriello. You have plenty of it anyway" Soap stepped forward, pushing the door back all the way and walking inside.

Avariella closed the door and watched as Soap took a seat on the couch. Her place looked cozy, like a little apartment. Soap didn't understand why she had one of the best rooms on the base, but he didn't complain.

"Can I get you anything to drink? You look like hell." She walked over to the fridge and took out a drink.

"Water will be fine; I don't drink with little girls." He waited for reaction, but she kept it cool.

"Fine by me, I don't plan on drinking with old men anytime soon." She turned around and smiled at him. "_This girl was good" _Soap thought to himself.

Avariella poured him a glass of water and handed it to him, then sat on a chair directly across from him. She sat back in her seat and crossed her legs. "Now tell me, Captain. What did you really come here for?"

"I already told you, I wanted to see how you were doing. It's not easy being the only female on this base, let alone the youngest." He took a sip of the water, and then rested it on the table in front of him. He analyzed everything about her, and he had to admit; he liked it.

"I'm perfectly fine being the only girl here, Captain Price said that I'll be an amazing addition to this force and all I'm trying to do is prove myself to him. I don't plan on making any friends but, you know things could change." She smirked and then looked down at her hands.

"You think that no one will want to be your friend? Half of these men haven't seen a female that wasn't running away from them in months. I think you'll be amazed that they're already talking about you." He half smiled, he didn't like it; but it was true.

"That's disgusting; tell them that I'm not interested." She rolled eyes.

"But you just said things could change." He said.

"I wasn't talking about _them;_ I was talking about an idiot who won't tell me why he's really here. I'm not stupid Captain MacTavish, I know when someone wants something from me, or wants to know something about me. I sensed it the moment you started talking to me." She smirked, and then looked up at him.

"Price was right; you will be an amazing addition to this team." And Soap meant what he just said, she was smart and sneaky. "Alright little girl, you caught me. The reason why I came here was because I'm confused about you. I looked through all of your files several times but nothing clicked! What is it about you, Avariella? I want to learn so much about you, and I don't even know why." Soap's eyes grew serious, yet Avariella saw that there was some type of hurt in him.

"You're confused about me? You barely know who I am." She hesitated. "But, since you're so anxious about this, I guess I'll tell you about myself. You do know that files can't tell you about me the way I can, right?" She smiled, for some reason he was addicted to her smile. "Well, my birth name is Avariella Winnie Suriello and I guess you can say I had the perfect life. My father was an important man, but he also owed a lot of money to a bunch of stupid men. He thought me that no matter where I go, I should always absorb as much as I can from a person."

"That's why you basically saw right through me when I was at your door." Soap smirked.

"Yes, that is exactly right." She looked down at her hands again and continued to talk "So, one night when my family and I were on our way home from dinner, our driver stopped the car and when I looked outside, there were men in masks aiming their guns at us. My father grabbed me by the arm and made me hide under the seat; I didn't know how to react when I heard screams, so all I did was pray. My eyes were covered the entire time, but when I heard footsteps walked away from the vehicle, I climbed out from under the seat and saw that—"She paused and took a deep breath.

"Your family was gone." Soap's voice grew dark.

"Yeah, and there was nothing I could do to help them. I gave all of them a kiss on the cheek and I ran as fast as I could, Captain. I don't remember much after that, but I did end up in witness protection shortly after. My family meant the entire world to me, and I swear to you, I want to spend the rest of my life finding the bastards who took away my number 1 priority. So if you're wondering why I'm so good at fighting and protecting myself, it's because one day I'll have to use everything that my father told me to absorb and fight against the ones who ruined my life." Avariella's eyes were teary, but her voice was sincere. "Now, is that what you wanted to hear?"

Soap could feel the emotional tension in the room, it was so thick he wanted to cut it with a knife, but instead he walked across the room and gave Avariella a hug.

For a moment, he felt tears soak his shirt and quiet sobs. There was something about this girl and he wanted to be a part of her life.

She pulled away from him and looked up at him. Her face looked so much more angelic up close, but there was still sadness in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Captain MacTavish. That was totally out of line and even though we barely know each other, there should've been a line and I crossed it." She blurted out and looked down.

"Shut up, little girl. Who gives a damn about protocol?" Soap grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. "Have I mentioned that probably the strongest female mentally and physically? I would be honoured the train you for the next couple of weeks, until I think you're ready to go out onto missions with the team." Soap ran his hand softly down her back while he felt Avariella's tiny hands grip onto him. "But as of right now, I want to reassure you that everything will be okay, and if you want someone to talk to I'm always here." Soap looked her in the eyes, and then kissed her on the forehead.


	4. Chapter 3

**Five years later**

"GET A MEDIC!"  
"Da, it looks like we have company Captain Price, they're coming for us!"  
"Argh, just patch me up already"

Those were the only words Ava heard as she entered the chaotic room, the first thing that caught her eye was Soap whimpering in pain. The man that trained her, mentored her, and who she considered her best friend was fighting for his life as bruises and blood was covering majority of his body. She knew that Soap was a tough one, but her heart bled just watching him in this state. She rushed over to him and took a good look at him, if he didn't get the proper medical care soon there was a chance that they could all lose him. His eyes were closed but tears were leaking down his face, the man she cared for the most was in so much pain.

"Where does it hurt, Captain MacTavish? I need to know which wound is causing the most pain to your body." The medic asked, but all he did was curse under his breath and groan.

"Soap, where is the pain?" Ava's voice was firm, but horse from holding back her tears. Soap's eyes shot open once she spoke "I know it hurts, I'm here. We are all here!"

"My bloody stomach… that bastard sh—"he groaned

"Stop talking, save all your energy and keep fighting." Ava watched the medic operate on him. Soap grabbed her hand and tried to speak but he couldn't. Having her support somehow became his reason to keep fighting and remain awake.

"Do whatever this man says!" Nikolai yelled at a man with tattoos all over his arms and a shaved head holding a M4A1 assault rifle and pushed him towards Price. As orders were given and shots were being fired, Ava felt blood splatter all over her right side, when she looked the medic was shot dead.

"Get down!" Price yelled and threw her an AK-47 riffle. She inserted a mag and headed towards the balcony where the man she'd never met before was. She took a few shots before hearing Soap call out in pain.

"Hey I got this, go in there and help Price!" She looked over at him and smiled. He nodded and left her side.

"Give him the needle!" Price ordered. 'Oh hell, he's going to hate this.' Ava thought as she overheard.

"ARGHHH, AVA?" Soap called her name out in pain.

"Hold on Soap, I'm a little busy here!" She called out, once the courtyard was clear, she ran inside and insisted that they moved now.

"Yuri, Ava, take point!" Price ordered as he loaded his riffle. Ava looked at Yuri and nodded at him, looks like this is the new recruit!

After securing the perimeter, they were able to board the chopper alongside a wondered Soap who was adapting to his injection. He lay across the seats with his head resting in Ava's lap; this was the only place where he felt that he could rest comfortable.

"You're going to be alright son, just rest now. That needle Yuri gave you should ease the pain until we get to the safe house." Price said.

"Who the hell is Yuri?" Soap mumbled.

"Ex-Spetsnaz; the only man I know who hates Makarov more than I do. Nikolai had him in his Loyalist Army and called him his best man, now stop talking and rest" Price said.

Soap wasn't sure about Yuri, although he wasn't sure about Ava either when she first joined the team. He always worried that the new recruits would do something to mess up their cover, or what if there was some sort of baggage that he needed to know of? It took Soap 2 years and nine months to fully trust Ava, and ever since then they had become inseparable. Even though Yuri saved his life, he still kept his guard up.

"Ava…" he groaned moments later.

"You heard the man, you need to rest now shut up." Ava gently placed her hand over his mouth and looked over at Yuri. "It's going to be pleasure working with you Yuri. My name is Avariella." She didn't smile this time, but her eyes were warm and welcoming.

"It'll be a pleasure working with you as well, Avariella." His thick Russian accent had Ava's stomach tied in knots and her mouth watering as she was hypnotised. She tried not to blush but she couldn't help it, Soap groaned which made her snap out of it.

"Enough chit-chat, you'll have enough time to get acquainted when we land." Price snapped.

Ava smirked while Yuri stared at her; he wanted to know how someone so small and kind-hearted became a part of his take force. But he didn't care, all he was looking forward to becoming a part of the strongest disavowed team and hunting down that son of a bitch, Makarov. He took one good look at Ava again who was looking out of the window, he has to admit it; he was satisfied and excited about the thought of getting to know her.


	5. Chapter 4

Africa was beautiful and peaceful; everything was so natural from the trees to the animals to the ocean, their base in Africa had a view of the ocean and enough trees were blocking the area that they had all the privacy that they needed. As much as Ava adored privacy, she was still upset that they were forced to be in hiding due to what Shepherd caused. Even though he had a tough military mentality and he was considered one of the best, Shepherd treated Ava like she was less equal than everyone else because she was a female. Most people assured to her that he was worried about her safety, but Shepherd made blunt remarks about her being a woman could weaken this team. Sometimes she wished it was her who threw a knife in his forehead.

Ava walked around the base, watching the remaining members of the team do their own thing, she felt very fortunate to be working with them every single day. If she had to say one good thing about being on this team, everyone looked out for each other. Even when they lost a couple of members, they still managed to keep the bond strong and keep their eyes on the prize; finding Makarov and putting a bullet through his skull.

When she found herself walking up to Soap's room, she thought about how fortunate and lucky that she still is for having him alive today and not dead. Last week after seeing him so weak and fighting for his life really made her appreciate him a bit more. She knocked the door a couple of times and waited for his response.

"The door's open" She heard Soap's voice and she opened the door, he was sitting on the edge of his bed tying his shoelace. When he was finished, he looked up at Ava who was leaning against the door frame staring at him; he rolled his eyes and got up.

"What is it?" He asked, as he walked over to a small table and picked up a glass of water.

"You're supposed to remain in bed until your wound heals, and according to the doctor you still have at least 3 more weeks. But clearly in your case, you'd rather heal on your own terms." She smirked.

"Damn right, I'll heal on my own terms and since when do you care if I get proper care or not?" Soap said.

"I don't, I just don't want you collapsing out there because no one has the time to drag your arse to safety." Ava said and smiled when she heard Soap chuckle.

"Seriously Suriello, do you have anything useful to tell me or are you going to be a waste of my time?" He turned to her.

"No actually, I was on my way to train for a bit but I thought that I'd stop by and see how you were doing. Do you consider that useful or a waste of your time?" Ava smiled.

"I don't know I'll have to get back to you on that one. Who are you training with today?" Soap asked.

"Well, ever since Price cleared me from having you as a trainer, I was thinking about doing the usual stuff followed by running the pit." Ava said.

"Well, congratulations Suriello you caught me in a good mood, I'll conduct your training today since I was already on my way over there. Don't think I haven't noticed you slacking off for the past couple of days because I wasn't around as much as before. And you've been slower than usual lately, have you forgotten what I've told you? Speed is everything, without speed you'll be left behind." Soap grabbed a duffel bag and his keys.

"I never asked for your accompaniment, I can do this all by myself thank you very much. I was actually looking forward for training today." Ava looked him dead in the eyes.

"This is what you get for coming over here and getting under my skin, now I'll spend the next 5 hours getting under yours. And don't think I'll go easy on you this time. Let's go." Soap lightly pushed her out of the door and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Technically if I really wanted to, I could walk away from this situation right now because you're not obligated to control me anymore." Ava snapped.

"Control you anymore? You seriously think just because Price gave you the O.K. to not have me conduct your trainings anymore, supervise you whenever you're in the shooting range and tell you when you should go to bed and wake up in the morning, that I no longer had control over you? Just remember who you're _obligated_ to listen to when we're actually out on a mission, Suriello. Just remember whose arse you run to when you decide to fuck up and miss a target on the battle field." Soap said, and turned to make his way towards the training area.

Ava stayed in one spot and tried to keep her cool, how could someone who acts so caring and protective one day change into a complete ruthless person the next day?

Soap turned around and arched an eyebrow "5 and half hours, now I suggest you start moving." Ava made a fist and followed him. "If you want to punch something, I'm right here." Soap smirked, but Ava no longer found anything funny.

"Go to hell, Soap."

Xxxxxxxxx

Captain Price blew out the hot air of smoke from his mouth and closed his eyes for a moment. It felt good to have an office to him where he could have some privacy away from everyone else; it was much better than being in a cold cell for endless hours every day. Days went by and it drove Price crazy when he had to wait but he trusted that the men who had eyes and ears on Makarov would report back to him with any trace that they had. It felt like he was starting from scratch again, without any current resources there were no way that he could locate Makarov or even predict what his next move would be. He stopped depending on the news for anything because the media just published a bunch of bull shit. It was evening time and most of the members were either taking a stroll around the base, training or resting. There wasn't much to do since they didn't have much access to technology or whatever entertained human beings nowadays, but they did know how to occupy themselves. Price sat back in his office chair and blew out the smoke from his mouth, as he held the cigar firmly in his hand. Soap's condition turned tables quickly, and he almost back to his old self which was good. While Yuri was adapting to his new team which was good too.

At moments like these, he felt like the team was that all he could depend on; even now when they were disavowed and they had nowhere to turn, he could feel their patience. They were working harder, getting stronger and at any moment he knew that they would be ready to move even faster than before. Captain Price was grateful for the team that stuck by his side from day 1, and now he had to pull his end of the weight and give them a reason to be here.


End file.
